Thursday, November 21, 2013

Bookanista Review: Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas




Sometimes, I'm just really in the mood for a twisty thriller, and DANGEROUS GIRLS fit the bill. In a ripped from the headlines story (sort of a cross between the Natalie Holloway and Amanda Knox cases), a group of friends rents a house on Aruba. One of the friends, Elise, is murdered and her bestie, Anna, is charged with the crime. Thus begins the trial of the century. The media crucify Anna, but was she really guilty?

I loved the slippery nature of truth in DANGEROUS GIRLS and the not-so-subtile criticisms of the media culture we live in. Anna and Elise have a very complicated relationship, and although a boy is involved, it is their friendship which is the focus here.

The twist at the end is so jaw-dropping, at first I couldn't swallow it. It felt unearned and I struggled for a time to come to terms with it's plausibility. But after some lively discussions with fellow bibliophiles, I  admire the risk of the ending and concede that it is actually quite brilliantly set-up.

Definitely give this a try if you enjoyed GONE GIRL.

FTC disclosure: Netgalley

What the other bookanistas are reading this week:

Shari Arnold is intrigued with SCARLETT by A.C. Gaughen
Christine Fonseca is making a happy noise for THE INVISIBLE BOY by Trudy Ludwig
Tracy Banghart is revealing the cover for her upcoming book, SHATTERED VEIL
Tracey Neithercott is crushing on SOLVING FOR EX by LeighAnne Kopans
Kimberly Sabatini is reveling in YOU LOOK DIFFERENT IN REAL LIFE by Jennifer Castle

5 comments:

Liviania said...

I'll have to try this one! I have been mildly curious about it.

Katy Upperman said...

Just finished this one too, and loved it. You're right about that twist... Mindblowing!

Ashley said...

I love and adore that book. It legit shocked me to the point when I wanted to discuss it with people, I had no one to discuss it with, because it was so unknown there for a bit!

Miss Scarlet said...

Thanks for the rec!

Christina said...

Tbh, I was mostly bored by Dangerous Girls, but I did love the very end. I sort of saw it coming, but I'm still glad it did.

However, I was hoping for this twist: the boyfriend killed Elise because actually Elise and Anna were having an affair. BOOM.